Known two-part connector plugs of the pin and spring contact type generally include a so-called fixed connector plug and a so-called free connector plug. The arrangement of the male pin contact plug or the female spring contact plug as either the fixed connector plug or the free connector plug can be freely chosen as desired. When such connector plugs are used for circuit boards, for example, the fixed connector plug usually makes a generally straight connection and the free connector plug makes an angled connection. When connector plugs are to be used on conductor cables, the specific orientation and configuration of the connector plugs is generally adapted to the particular requirements of the cable at hand.
The operating frequencies of modern electronic components and systems are becoming so high that typical prior art connector plugs are increasingly becoming bottlenecks in the transmission of electrical signals due to the insufficient electrical characteristics of the connector plugs. Furthermore, substantial mechanical demands are also placed on certain connector plugs that act as electrical-mechanical interfaces between various electronic subassemblies and bus systems. The prior art has not been able to provide electrical connectors that satisfactorily meet both the electrical and mechanical requirements.
As an example of the prior art, European Patent Document No. 0,475,179 discloses a spring contact connector having shielding strips inserted into the chambers instead of the spring contacts. However, such an arrangement in the prior art connector only achieves shielding of the contacts on two sides rather than all around the contacts, and furthermore leads to the loss or sacrifice of some contacts for the purpose of shielding.
German Patent Publication No. 3,904,461 discloses a connector plug having a plug body made of an electrically conducting material in which the conductor contacts are embedded in an insulated manner. The method of making or assembling such connector plugs is rather complicated and deviates from the previously typical methods of production. For these reasons, such a connector plug is not deemed to be suitable for general purpose applications.
It has been a trend in the field of use of such connector plugs that ever more individual contacts per connector plug unit are required. This demand of ever more contacts is based to a substantial degree on the goal of achieving the required electrical quality of the signal conducting contacts with as many adjacent ground contacts as possible. For this reason, very many relatively expensive, high quality contacts are used up for static applications.